Renee Relin: How did they figure that you go from a sea squirt to a drug that's going to work on this specific, esoteric kind of cancer?
Dr. Dean Edell: Renee Relin has soft tissue sarcoma, a cancer that affects muscles and organs.
Renee Relin: It was close to some critical vessels.
Dr. Dean Edell: When doctors discovered an inoperable tumor, Renee volunteered for a clinical trial, testing E-T 7-4-3, a drug made from the toxins of a sea squirt.
Dr. Bruce Chabner: About 10% of the patients respond; that is, the tumors shrink significantly.
Dr. Dean Edell: This may look like dog's play, but Rusty, Maggy and Ginger are on an important mission. Researchers are looking at whether dogs, with their keen sense of smell, could help doctors sniff out diseases, like skin cancer.
Lawrence Myers: People simply can go into a dermatologist's office and the dog could check them over, instead of waiting for them to notice an abnormally shaped or colored mole.
Dr. Dean Edell: From dogs on dry land to the depths of the sea, animals are providing medical science with an ocean of healing opportunities. I'm Dr. Dean Edell.
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